Detailed Schedule | British Fiction

*An asterisk in front of an item indicates required syllabus reading. Others are recommended reading.

Week 1	Jan. 7	1: Transatlantic Interconnections Reading Ford Madox Ford, "Dedicatory Letter to Stella Ford," Introduction, The Good Soldier* (1927) David Stuart Davies, Short History of the Ghost Story, Wordsworth Editions "Bumps in the Night," Part One of David Stuart Davies' History of the Ghost Story "Ho Ho Ho—Boo!," David Stuart Davies Looks at the Tradition of Ghost Stories at Christmas "Bumps in the Night," David Stuart Davies Concludes His Short History of the Ghost Story Discussion: Prior texts; international influences in the development of British fiction at the turn of the century; impact of British fiction across the globe; defining and contesting Britishness; changing ideas about fiction; making way for the modernists; rise of the literary craft and criticism; developing genres and subgenres; popular and "serious" fiction
Week 1	Jan. 9	2: 1910s Reading W. Somerset Maugham, Preface, The Complete Short Stories of W. Somerset Maugham, vol. 2: The World Over (1952) W. Somerset Maugham, Preface, Cosmopolitans* (1936) W. Somerset Maugham, "Louise" (1925) James Wood, Introduction, The Heart of the Matter, by Graham Greene (2004) "Votes for Women," British Library* (2018) Discussion: Roles and views of women during the 1910s; WWI effects on gender roles and rights; author-reader relationship; publishing industry Introduction to "Louise": In groups of four students, "introduce" Maugham's short story "Louise" in the manner of Wood's analysis of the first chapter of Greene's The Heart of the Matter.
Week 2	Jan. 14	No class (Intervarsity Games: January 13–17, 2020)
Week 2	Jan. 16	No class (Intervarsity Games: January 13–17, 2020)
Week 3	Jan. 21	3: 1920s: Experiments Reading Agatha Christie, "The Witness for the Prosecution," Flynn's, vol. 4, no. 2 (1925; published as "Traitor's Hands") Virginia Woolf, "Mrs. Dalloway in Bond Street" (1922) Elaine Showalter, "Mrs Dalloway: Exploring Consciousness and the Modern World," British Library (2016) "A Very Short History of Cinema," National Science and Media Museum (2011) Discussion: Competing fields and forms for fiction ex. science, art, film; emergence of modern fiction
Week 3	Jan. 23	4: 1930s Reading Wyndham Lewis, Introduction, Men without Art* (1934) Frank O'Connor, "Guests of the Nation" (1931) Frank O'Connor, "Introduction," The Lonely Voice: A Study of the Short Story* (1962) J. R. R. Tolkien, "An Unexpected Party," The Hobbit, or There and Back Again (1937) chapter 1 J. R. R. Tolkien, "Author's Note" Why War? Albert Einstein, Letter to Sigmund Freud (1932) Sigmund Freud, Letter to Albert Einstein (1932 reply) New York World's Fair: World of Tomorrow, PeriscopeFilm (1939; video clip, 9:27 min.) Discussion: Voices; representing war; O'Connor and the short story
Week 4	Jan. 28	5: 1940s: Engagements Reading George Orwell, Animal Farm* (1945; study guide) George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language," The Orwell Foundation* (1946 "Russian Revolution: What Young Soviets Wanted for Today's Russians," BBC (2017)
Week 4	Jan. 30	6: 1940s Reading George Orwell, Animal Farm* (1945; study guide) George Orwell, Preface to the Ukrainian edition of Animal Farm (1947) Discussion: Orwell's art of political writing Inside the 1940s: Phichayapa
Week 5	Feb. 4	7: 1940s: Renaming Reading George Orwell, Animal Farm* (1945; study guide) John Sutherland, "An Introduction to Animal Farm," British Library (2016) "Study Guide," New Rep Theatre (2018) John Merriman, European Civilization, 1648–1945, Open Yale Courses (2008; includes downloadable transcript, audio and video) Lecture 19: "The Romanovs and the Russian Revolution" (46:57 min.) Lecture 21: "Stalinism" (46:47 min.) Inside the 1940s: Raiwin
Week 5	Feb. 6	8: 1940s Reading George Orwell, Animal Farm* (1945; study guide) Aldous Huxley, Letter to George Orwell on Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) Arthur C. Clarke, "Hide and Seek," The Nine Billion Names of God: The Best Short Stories of Arthur C. Clarke* (1948) Inside the 1950s: Piengfa
Week 6	Feb. 11	9: 1950s: Questioning Reading Samuel Beckett, "Ping" (1966, 1967) Bruce Chatwin, On the Black Hill (1982) chapters 1–17 (pp. 1–86) Greg Buzwell, "The 1950s: English Literature's Angry Decade," British Library (2017) Inside the 1950s: Tanchita
Week 6	Feb. 13	10: 1960s Reading Muriel Spark, "The House of the Famous Poet" (1966) Bruce Chatwin, On the Black Hill (1982) chapters 18–25 (pp. 87–135) Christian House, "Boy Wonder: A Revealing View of Bruce Chatwin's Early Years at Sotheby's," Independent (2008) Rebecca A. Clay, "Bruce Chatwin: A Biography," review, Wilson Quarterly, vol. 24 (2000) Gary Raymond, "GWN Revisited: On the Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin," Wales Art Review (2017) Inside the 1960s: Intukorn Panuwat
Week 7	Feb. 18	11: 1970s: Diversity Reading Philip Tew, "Contemporary Britishness," The Contemporary British Novel* (2007) Bruce Chatwin, On the Black Hill* (1982) chapters 26–42 (pp. 136–219) Inside the 1970s: Phitchayawi
Week 7	Feb. 20	12: 1970s Reading Bruce Chatwin, On the Black Hill* (1982) chapters 43–50 (pp. 220–62) Angela Carter, "The Snow Child," The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories* (1979) Inside the 1970s: Chollada
Week 8	Feb. 25	13: 1980s: Reclaiming the World Reading Bridget Chalk, "The 1980s," The Cambridge Companion to British Fiction: 1980–2018* (2019) Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, "The Language of African Literature," Decolonizing the Mind* (1981) Salman Rushdie, "The Perforated Sheet" and "Mercurochrome," Midnight's Children* (1980) Discussion: Postcolonial sensibilities; implications of the English language; owning languages Inside the 1980s: Onjira Tanyamon
Week 8	Feb. 27	14: 1980s and Review Reading Anita Desai, Introduction, Midnight's Children* (1995) Salman Rushdie, "The Perforated Sheet" and "Mercurochrome," Midnight's Children* (1980) Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins, Watchmen* (1986) chapter 1 Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Watchmen Annotated, edited by Leslie S. Klinger (2017) chapter 1 Chernobyl, directed by Johan Renck, HBO (2019 TV mini-series) Discussion: The rise of graphic novels Inside the Times: 1900s: Narumol 1910s: Natthaporn 1920s: Sasina 1930s: Romrawin
Week 9	Mar. 3	No class (Midterm week: March 2–6, 2020)
Week 9	Mar. 5	Midterm Test (Midterm week: March 2–6, 2020) (15 minutes for thought and planning and 1 hour for writing) This is an open-book essay-type test. It starts at 2:30 and ends at 3:45 p.m. You can work on it anywhere you like. There are two options for receiving the prompt and handing in your response: Digital: The prompt will be posted on the announcements section of our course page as well as e-mailed to you. (Make sure I have your e-mail address if you choose this option.) E-mail back your writing when done. There is a grace period of five minutes for your mail to reach my inbox (3:45–3:50 p.m.). Paper: In our usual classroom (BRK 304) you will be given a paper prompt and a booklet for your response. Hand in the booklet within 3:45 p.m. in the same room. Review and Practice Test
Week 10	Mar. 10	15: 1990s Reading Hanif Kureishi, "Something Given: Reflections on Writing" (2002) Hanif Kureishi, The Buddha of Suburbia (1990) chapter 1 Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, "Why I Choose to Write in Irish: The Corpse That Sits Up and Talks Back," The New York Times Book Review (1995) Inside the 1990s: Puthita
Week 10	Mar. 12	16: 1990s Reading Pieter Vermeulen, "The 1990s," The Cambridge Companion to British Fiction: 1980–2018* (2019) A. S. Byatt, Possession* (1990) chapters 1 and 2 Inside the 1990s: Sukapinya
Week 11	Mar. 17	17: 2000s: Destabilizing Reading Leigh Wilson, "Post-Millennial Literature," The Cambridge Companion to British Fiction: 1980–2018* (2019) Ali Smith, Girl Meets Boy* (2007) part I (pp. 1–45) Inside the 2000s: Pasit Discussion: Classcast Open Questions "Water Is" Graffiti Discussion Session Comments
Week 11	Mar. 19	18: 2000s: Constructive Disruption Reading Ali Smith, Girl Meets Boy* (2007) part You (pp. 49–77) Inside the 2000s: Pattanun Discussion: Classcast (Sign up to co-host.) Constructive Disruption Breakout Discussion Session Comments
Week 12	Mar. 24	19: 2000s: The Meaning of Things Reading Ali Smith, Girl Meets Boy* (2007) parts Us and Them (pp. 81–146) Discussion: Classcast (Sign up to co-host.) Quiz 1: Us and Them (5 minutes; 15 points) Writing practice: The meaning of "girl meets boy" Session Comments
Week 12	Mar. 26	20: 2000s: The Symbols and Symbolism of Meetings Reading Ali Smith, Girl Meets Boy* (2007) part All Together Now (pp. 149–61) Discussion: Classcast (Sign up to co-host.) Symbols and Symbolism of Meetings discussion Session Comments
Week 13	Mar. 31	21: Early 2010s Reading Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending* (2011; study guide) Inside the 2010s: Niramit Discussion: Classcast (Sign up to co-host.) Evolving Storyview discussion Session Comments and Continued Discussion
Week 13	Apr. 2	22: Early 2010s Reading Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending* (2011; study guide) Discussion: Classcast (Sign up to co-host.) Your Sense of an Ending discussion Session Comments and Continued Discussion
Week 14	Apr. 7	23: Early 2010s Reading Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending* (2011; study guide) Discussion: Classcast (Sign up to co-host.) Quiz 2 (5 minutes) Session Comments and Continued Discussion Reading response due (Respond to a study question on The Sense of an Ending and post it on Roundtable Conversation.)
Week 14	Apr. 9	24: Early 2010s: Domestic Astonishment Reading Mike McCormack, "Of One Mind," Best European Fiction 2013, edited by Aleksandar Hemon (2012) Padraic Killeen, "A True Son of the Country," Irish Examiner* (2012) Aoife Barry, "How Mike McCormack Went from 'Not Being Able to Give a Book Away' to Winning a €100k Award," The Journal (2018) Aleksandar Hemon, Introduction, Best European Fiction 2013 (2012) Discussion: Literary visibility (ex. awards, best-of collections, big-name publishers, major chain bookstores and online sellers); cultural translation; contemporary publishing cultures and processes; independent press; Irish domestic realism; father-son relationship Classcast (Sign up to co-host.) Session Comments and Continued Discussion
Week 15	Apr. 14	No class (Songkran)
Week 15	Apr. 16	25: Late 2010s: Disruption and Continuation Reading Aminatta Forna, Happiness* (2018) "The Last Wolf" to chapter 7 (pp. 1–112) Discussion: What is post-race?; decentralizing Britain Classcast (Co-hosted with Raiwin) Passage Study (close reading and focus writing) Session Comments and Continued Discussion Inside the 2010s: Panas
Week 16	Apr. 21	26: Late 2010s: Narrative Structure and Meaning Reading Aminatta Forna, Happiness* (2018) chapters 8–11 (pp. 113–184) Maxine Sinclair, "Falling on Deaf Ears," The Limping Chicken* (2016) Discussion: Approaches to narrative structure Classcast (Co-hosted with Phitchayawi and Chollada) Flash Experience (mini story) Download presentation Session Comments and Continued Discussion
Week 16	Apr. 23	27: Late 2010s: Beyond the Human Reading Aminatta Forna, Happiness* (2018) chapters 12–14 (pp. 185–232) George Monbiot, "In Defense of Speciesism," The Guardian (2020) Discussion: The urban wild Classcast (Sign up to co-host.) Session Comments and Continued Discussion
Week 17	Apr. 28	28: Late 2010s: Literature and Digital Technology Reading: Aminatta Forna, Happiness* (2018) chapters 15–20 (pp. 233–86) Cybernetic novels Joshua Barrie, "Computers Are Writing Novels: Read a Few Samples Here," Business Insider (2014) Michael Schaub, "Is the Future Award-Winning Novelist a Writing Robot?," Los Angeles Times (2016) Brian Merchant, "When an AI Goes Full Jack Kerouac," The Atlantic (2018) Gregory Barber, "Text-Savvy AI Is Here to Write Fiction," Wired (2019) Discussion: Digital culture; technology and fiction; cybernetic novels and full AI novels; treatments of social media Classcast (Sign up to co-host.) Session Comments and Continued Discussion
Week 17	Apr. 30	29: Late 2010s: Habitat for Literature Reading Aminatta Forna, Happiness* (2018) chapters 21–24 (pp. 287–309) Katie Paterson, Future Library (2014–2114 artwork) Discussion: The evolution of British fiction, British authors and Britishness; the ecology of fictional creation; reception; critical possibilities Classcast (Co-hosted with Narumol; guest: Sunadda Samana) Session Comments and Continued Discussion Course Comments and Review
Week 18	May 7	Final Exam (1–4 p.m.; open-book) The final exam covers material in the latter half of the semester. Review and practice final Final exam
Week 19	May 14	Final paper due (5–7 pp.)